Stravaganza: City of Flowers - Hardcover

Hoffman, Mary

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1582348871 ISBN 13: 9781582348872

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens, 2005

Synopsis

The latest story in the Stravaganza series unravels amid ever-more-dangerous politics and intrigue. Sky, a new Stravagante, is whisked away from his dreary life in London to Giglia, the Talian version of Florence. Featuring favorite characters from the first two titles in the series, including Georgia and Falco, as well as a host of exciting new characters, this breathtaking adventure will not disappoint.

But beware-in the beautiful City of Flowers, much that seems beautiful is in fact poisonous...

About this title

About the Author

Mary Hoffman is the author of the first two Stravaganza books, City of Masks and City of Stars, as well as more than eighty other books for children. For the Stravaganza series, Mary traveled to Italy many times to research the history of each setting. Mary has three grown daughters and lives with her husband in Oxfordshire, England.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–In this third installment in the series, Sky Meadows, a London teen, finds himself drawn magically to a land called Talia, which resembles Italy of the 1500s. Brought to the city of Giglia by a monk named Brother Sulien, Sky learns that he is one of a secret fellowship of Stravaganti, people who can travel between certain times, places, and dimensions. Sky, along with several other London Stravaganti teenagers, quickly becomes enmeshed in Giglian intrigue; when the ruthless Duke Niccolò di Chimici decides not only to marry off all his sons in a grand ceremony, but also to ask for the unwilling Duchessa Arianna Rossi's hand in marriage, a feud erupts, and the Stravaganti have their hands full trying to halt the bloodshed. Readers who are new to the series will have a hard time keeping the bewilderingly large cast of characters straight and will have many questions about issues that fans of the series already understand or take for granted–why does Arianna always wear a mask? How are the Stravaganti "chosen?" Sky, son of a white single mom and an absent black rock star, is an engaging character with worries of his own, and the world of Talia is presented in vivid sensory detail that immediately sweeps readers into the story. Arianna is not a particularly compelling character in this installment, but the swirling intrigue, romance, and deadly feuding will keep fans happy. A must if you already have the first two books in your collection.–Eva Mitnick, Los Angeles Public Library
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About this edition

• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1582348871
• ISBN 13: 9781582348872
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 250